


Our Corner of the Universe

by adorebughead



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-02-10 19:25:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12918639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adorebughead/pseuds/adorebughead
Summary: Betty Cooper, now fully grown, thriving in her twenties with more responsibilities than she can count, feels a mini getaway to a secluded lodge coated in snow the weekend before Christmas could actually be quite good for her, despite her initial objections. Reuniting with her old high school friends, a guy she must pretend to be in love with, a proposal, a forbidden romance, and the appearance of an unexpected, familiar face; Betty could never have been prepared for a weekend like this.





	1. A Forbidden Romance

Christmas was without a doubt the busiest time of the entire year in Riverdale, probably more so than any other town in the world, or so Betty thought. So, naturally, when Veronica suggested the entirety of their high school friend group go away for a long weekend before the main event itself, she had very politely declined. She had work, she had her hobbies, her family to take care of, her Christmas shopping to do (although, admittedly, she had almost finished it way over a month in advance), and the offer really couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time. She couldn’t go. And that was that.

Of course, saying no to Veronica Lodge was easier said than done. And, somehow still, Betty had found herself venturing to a secluded lodge out in the countryside surrounded by an utterly untouched mask of snow with Veronica, Archie Andrews, Cheryl Blossom, Kevin Keller, Josie McCoy and Reggie Mantle for four days prior to Christmas. _The dream team_ , as Reggie so frequently referred to them, still keeping in touch as much as they could since they’d finished college, and actually doing quite a good job of it.

Archie and Veronica were still very much together since high school, as were Josie and Reggie, whereas the other three were as single as could be; something they often joked about through gritted teeth. Kevin and Betty had decided after four shots each of tequila one summer that they were going to get married if they hit 30 and were still flying solo, which Alice Cooper would have a fit over; it was probably why she found entertaining the idea so amusing.

The lodge that they’d booked to stay in had been paid for entirely by Veronica’s family as a Christmas present; one that Betty felt she simply could not accept but, yet again, Veronica and her parents weren’t people who typically took no for an answer, so, here she was. Trudging through snow almost up to her knees in her favourite light brown wellington boots and hauling along a small suitcase up to a location that looked like it had fallen straight out of a romantic comedy movie. They’d deliberately picked the one furthest out of the way for a sense of seclusion and privacy, just as though it was their own little corner of the universe.

Truthfully, despite her initial objections, she was happy for the break. Especially seeing as as soon as they’d gotten inside they’d realised there was no internet and no phone signal for a good half an hour out to the nearest town. Of course, Cheryl did not react well to this; in fact, nobody really did. Nobody, that was, except Betty. Shutting herself away from the world and the weight of all of her crippling responsibilities that came with being a Cooper sounded like complete and utter bliss. All she needed was her friends, good music, good food, and a damn good book. She knew this was going to be a weekend she’d keep in her heart for a very long time, and switching off excited her much more than it probably should’ve.

_Then why did something feel so off?_

“I did ask him to come,” Archie said in a hushed tone, joining Betty in the kitchen as she unloaded the bags of food they’d brought with them, looking back to see the rest of the group assembled on the sofas warming themselves up in front of the fire.

“Who?” She replied, her heart in her throat, avoiding eye contact as she counted four bags of pasta, thinking that might be slightly extravagant, and knowing full well who he was referring to. 

“He said he’d come if he could get it off work. I never heard from him again.”

Betty glanced up after a moment’s hesitation to meet a look of concern. “It’s not a problem,” she smiled, her eyes clouded with something Archie couldn’t quite pinpoint. “We’ll just use the extra room to store Cheryl’s five hundred suitcases.”

“Yeah,” Kevin interjected quite suddenly, rinsing out his empty coffee cup and raising a brow, “remind me why she’s here again?”

“Because,” Betty started, “this is a reunion of old friends and Cheryl deserves to be here.”

“Not because she’s the aunt of your sister’s kids and you’re now forever indebted to her?”

Betty titled her head and pursed her lips together, pausing unpacking for a brief moment. “No comment.”

The three of them giggled as Veronica bounded over, looping her arm through Archie’s and resting her head on his shoulder as he briskly kissed her hair. “Sounds like I’m missing all of the fun over here.”

Reggie soon followed, grabbing an apple from the bag that Betty still hadn’t unpacked and taking a large bite. He leant up against the counter and spoke with his mouth half full. Charming, as ever.

“How’s it going at The Register, Betty?”

Betty diverted her gaze to the ground with a faint smile. “It’s good. I had some big boots to fill taking over from my mom, but I think I’m doing ok.”

“Ok?” Kevin cried. “She’s doing incredible. She’s just too modest to say so.”

“And…” Veronica added, “Your love life?”

Betty frowned, looking down and shuffling her feet together. “I don’t really have time for that,” she lied. She didn’t get to see Veronica and Archie very often since they’d moved out to New York together, but she kept them updated as much as she could. Veronica always asked the same questions, and Betty always gave the same vague answers. It was like some never-ending game that everyone lost.

Her love life?

Well, there was Trev for about a month. Nothing exciting, in fact, really quite dull. He was nice enough, but they were more suited as friends than anything else, something they’d agreed on and moved on from. He was now married with a child on the way. There was Lucas, who she’d dated on and off for almost a year, but again, there was something missing. There was always something missing. She’d gone on a couple more dates here and there, but they’d all turned out to go nowhere and were nothing worth mentioning. Truthfully, she was a very busy woman. She had completely immersed herself in her work, trying to focus on other things and succeeding for the most part. She had a firm grip on every other aspect of her life, and she was proud of herself for that.

She hadn’t seen Jughead Jones in roughly four years.

It hadn’t been a necessarily bad breakup. It had been mutual without any real bad blood, they were both being pulled in completely different directions, and when he and his dad left Riverdale to be with his mom and sister, the whole thing just kind of broke apart. They weren’t friends, but they weren’t enemies either; they were kind of trapped in an unspoken limbo. One neither of them knew how to break out of. Everyone knew not to mention him. The only person who ever did was Archie, and even that was very rare. Even just thinking of him pained her, so she tried very hard not to.

“Speaking of love,” Veronica smirked, dragging Betty out of her own little world.

“What?” She asked defensively, pausing what she was doing and raising her brows as Veronica giggled and Archie rolled his eyes as if to send Betty a silent apology for what was about to come. She was up to something, she knew she was.

“I kind of invited someone who wants to meet you,” she declared.

“You did what?”

“He’s called Brian and he’s lovely, B, really.”

Betty turned around, grasping a jar of carbonara sauce in disbelief. “You invited some random guy to our weekend away?”

“He’s not random,” she cried, “he’s that new guy who works at the gas station. And please be careful with that; I love carbonara.”

“Oh my god, not the one who asked me how I sleep with my ponytail in?”

Veronica pursed her lips together and shrugged.

“Oh, god.”

“I know him,” Josie interjected, grabbing a can of coke from the fridge and nudging it shut with her hip. “He asked me if he could be our first choice if we ever decided we wanted a new pussycat.”

“Ok, ok,” Veronica cried, throwing her hands up, “I get it. He’s… eccentric, but he’s on his way, so let’s try and be nice. Please?”

The girls looked at each other with the same look at the use of the word _eccentric_ , before letting out an uncontrollable snigger.

“Oh my god, V,” Betty shook her head, finding the situation funnier than she'd liked to admit. “I love you, but you’re ridiculous and you're lucky I'm not walking out of that door right now.”

“I tell her that every day.”

Veronica hit Archie playfully as Betty’s eyes followed Kevin who was now quite abruptly leaving the kitchen and grabbing his case from the bottom of the stairs. The group had now changed the subject to that of Veronica’s new business as a fashion designer, and Betty saw an opportunity to go after him and make sure he was holding up.

“Hey,” she said, quickening the pace to catch up, “you ok?”

“Yeah,” he replied, smiling with a brief look of confusion, “why? I’m just taking my stuff upstairs.”

She returned the smile, shaking her head and furrowing her brows slightly at her own tendency of worrying over nothing. “Ok, just checking.”

Of course, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Kevin wasn’t ok at all. _Perhaps it was to do with his parents_ , she wondered. After Sheriff Keller’s affair with Mayor McCoy had come out a few years ago, it had hit Kevin pretty hard. His mom wasn’t around, and suddenly he felt incredibly isolated from his father, too. He spiralled, pushing away his friends and anyone who wanted to lend him a shoulder to cry on. Of course, a lot of time had passed since then and he seemed to have moved on and built himself back up again. So, really, it was probably all in her head.

Betty Cooper’s best trait was that she cared an awful lot about the people around her. Sometimes it was also her worst.

When she decided it might be best to haul her own case upstairs, she’d packed a considerable amount for five days in the middle of nowhere but nowhere near as much as Cheryl or Veronica who had clearly prepared for the apocalypse, she soon realised that her room was the one on the third floor in its own little space with its own landing and its own small staircase.

“Hey, why have I been exiled?” She cried jokingly, to which the rest of the group laughed from downstairs.

“Probably so you can have some alone time with Brian,” Josie called back as Betty rolled her eyes.

“Ha ha, hilarious,” she shook her head but couldn’t help laughing along ever so slightly. Perhaps Brian would be a nice guy after all; she didn’t want to judge him too soon, and maybe she needed something to look forward to.

Then again, he was the one who consistently referred to her as ‘Beth’ when she’d go to grab some gas before work, no matter how many times she corrected him. She wondered if that really was the first of many bad things to come for **#Britty** , as Veronica jokingly decided to start referring to them as.

Betty was pleasantly surprised to find that her room was huge, probably the biggest of all, yet was somehow still the cosiest space she’d ever laid eyes on. She had a fire, nothing compared to the grand fireplace downstairs but still a fire nonetheless; a considerably-sized flat screen TV; a double bed with more cushions than she cared to count; a small en-suite; a desk with a small collection of reading and writing material; and, best of all, a balcony overlooking the most beautiful scenery she had ever seen in her life. Living in Riverdale for the past twenty three years meant that she seldom saw anything like this other than on the TV, and she was mesmerised. The Lodges had really gone all out.

Plonking her suitcase in the corner to lean up against the wall, she opened up the double doors and allowed the icy cool breeze to nibble against her cheeks. She tightened her cardigan around her torso and stepped out onto the concrete momentarily, absorbing the blanket of snow covering the mountains and the trees. She wanted to take a picture, but she felt nothing could possibly capture this moment and do it any justice other than just looking and seeing with her own eyes. Perhaps she’d write a poem later; something she had been dabbling in ever since… well, ever since he’d left.

It was only when she shut her eyes that she heard a car door relatively close by, prompting her to flit them open again and divert her gaze to the source of the sound. Of course, there in the driveway a few floors down to the right stood a guy emerging from a car and throwing a backpack across his shoulder. He was here already. Brian.

Of course, who else had she expected to see? She knew he wasn’t coming. It was naïve of her to think that he even would.

“Brian, hey!” Veronica beamed, closing the door behind him as he pulled off his snow-covered puffy coat and hung it up beside him.

Betty lingered at the top of the stairs, unsure of how to approach the situation. Wondering if she could hide in her room all weekend watching re-runs of old teen dramas on the TV without anyone noticing.

“Thanks for letting me join,” he replied, his eyes darting around nervously. Looking for her, she assumed.

“B!” She bellowed, as Betty flinched, rolling her eyes and huffing under her breath _I’m going to kill her one of these days._

As she carefully made her way down to greet him, he was introducing himself to everyone else in the room who were being incredibly polite and welcoming; minus Cheryl who was reading a magazine in the corner with a face mask on. She had really wasted no time in making herself at home. Nobody dared disturb her if not necessary.

His eyes lit up when he saw her. “Beth,” he said.

“Actually, it’s Bett-“ but before she could finish correcting him, he had pulled her into an incredibly awkward hug, as she tapped him on the back in response. Archie and Reggie were trying really hard not to laugh, as Veronica shot them daggers.

“So, I see you’ve met everyone properly,” Betty mumbled as she pulled away, painting on her perfect, friendly smile that had served her well all of her life. “Oh, everyone except Kevin,” she added, noticing he still hadn’t returned from his room.

“The Sheriff’s son?”

“That’s him.”

Everyone loitered kind of awkwardly until Veronica and Josie suggested making everyone hot beverages, something that soon caught Cheryl’s attention.

“I’ll have a peppermint hot chocolate with marshmallows, but no cream, it makes me bloat.”

Veronica pursed her lips together and raised a brow, quite clearly biting her tongue. Cheryl was hard work, but they did love her in their own way. “Ok, anyone else?”

“Do you have any milk?” Brian asked, almost sheepishly.

“Milk?”

“Yeah, just a glass of warm milk. My mom always made it for me. I love the stuff.”

Veronica smiled, avoiding eye contact with Betty, knowing the look she’d be met with. “Sure, Brian.”

As she promptly turned to make her way into the kitchen, Betty followed, leaving Brian to sit down beside Josie and engage in a conversation that was clearly already boring her to tears. _Sorry_ , she mouthed.

“V,” she hissed, keeping her voice as low as she could as they made their way out of earshot.

“A latte, right?”

“I actually hate you,” she groaned.

“Oh, stop being so dramatic. It’s not like you’re sharing a room or anything.”

Betty folded her arms, leaning up against the counter to face Veronica as she boiled the water and grabbed a few mugs from the cupboard above her head.

“Do I really come across as that lonely?”

Veronica looked up then, her eyes softening. “Betty, you’ve done amazing these past few years as a badass, independent woman. Believe me, you’ve had Beyoncé quaking in her boots. I just thought it’s the holidays and Brian might be nice and maybe you could get to know each other, that’s all.”

Betty sighed, looking to the ground. “Fine. But have you ever actually had a conversation with him before? He’s not really somebody I’d usually go for.”

“What, you mean he’s not a jerk?” She grinned.

“No,” Betty smirked with an eye roll, “although I will admit I could’ve made some better dating choices these past few years.”

“If you really don’t want anything to do with him I’ll make something up. Say there was a mistake with the rooms or something, I don’t know.”

Betty shook her head and reached for a few teaspoons to hand over. “No, we can’t do that. I’ll try, ok? Just next time you try to set me up with a guy from the local gas station, give me a heads up first.”

“Got it. Sorry, B,” Veronica carefully grabbed Brian’s milk out of the microwave, “I didn’t think about it as much as I probably should’ve.”

“Your heart was in the right place, don’t worry.”

“Oh god, someone help me,” Josie whispered, her eyes widening as she power walked into the kitchen. “He’s telling me about his sweater collection… in detail.”

Betty smiled, nodding and retrieving the mug of freshly poured hot milk. “I’ve got it. If I don’t come back in fifteen minutes, take that as a prompt to come and save me.”

However, almost like magic, just ten minutes into Betty’s conversation with Brian, who had now moved onto an in-depth story about the one time he’d gone skiing with his family and almost broken his leg, Archie hovered beside them and coughed slightly, causing Brian to eventually halt mid-sentence.

“You ok, Arch?” Betty questioned, eyeing her best friend who was suddenly looking incredibly nervous and as though he could barely stand still.

“Sorry to interrupt, but can I talk to you quickly?”

Betty glanced at Brian who was smiling and gesturing for her to go, which she noted was pretty nice of him, seeing as he seemed to be getting to the good part of his story, so he claimed.

“What’s up?” She asked, keeping her voice down as they briskly disappeared around the corner.

“I need to tell you something. It’s eating me alive.”

“Ok,” she muttered, growing rapidly concerned at the seriousness in his tone that was actually a very rare occurrence for Archie Andrews. “Is someone hurt?”

“No, no,” he replied, “nothing like that.”

She raised a brow, waiting for words that weren’t seeming to come out. “Archie-“

“I’m going to ask Veronica to marry me.”

Her jaw dropped as a smile crept onto her lips before she could stop it. “What?!”

“Shhhh.”

“Well, holy shit. It’s about time.”

He scratched the back of his neck nervously as he popped his head round the corner to make sure nobody could hear them. “I’m kinda terrified.”

“Why?” Betty wondered. “You know she’s going to obviously say yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Archie, come on. She’s been waiting for this for months, let me assure you.”

His face softened. “She has?”

“Did her leaving catalogues out with rings she liked circled in bright red pen not give it away?”

“Well, now you mention it…”

She laughed, pulling him into a huge embrace. “I’m so excited for you. When are you going to do it?”

“Tomorrow night, I think. Ronnie’s arranged an evening of drinks and music and cheesy party games. I’ll throw it in somewhere in the middle.”

Betty smiled, shaking her head at the thought of her two best friends finally agreeing to tie the knot, in total disbelief that they were now all grown up and ready to actually do these kinds of things that seemed so big and scary when they were kids. “This is so exciting.”

“Thanks, Betty. Just don’t tell her, ok?”

Betty zipped her mouth shut with her fingers, still unable to suppress her smirk. “My lips are sealed.”

The rest of the evening went by pretty smoothly. Kevin had emerged after an hour of doing god knows what and appeared to be in good spirits again, happily accepting a glass of red wine from Cheryl who had finally agreed to share the incredibly expensive bottle she had brought with her; despite of the fact that Veronica’s parents had already stocked the place up with everything you could possibly think of.

Betty had opted for a very weak vodka and lemonade, she wasn’t one to drink excessively especially when she was tired, and propped her feet up as she joined in the slightly scattered group conversation. As it turned out, much to her surprise, Brian wasn’t all that bad at all. He was actually pretty funny, and had the lot of them in fits of laughter more than once; perhaps it was the alcohol, but whatever it was, everyone had warmed to him rather quickly. She felt bad, almost, for judging him before even having spoken to him properly. Of course, _the spark_ just wasn’t there for them. And she had a feeling he knew it, too. But she saw no issue with befriending him; in fact, she was pretty pleased with how wonderful the evening had turned out to be.

The entire place had been decorated with a huge, bright Christmas tree, gleaming different shades of red and gold, along with fairy lights along the banister of the long staircase, a few stockings hung beside the fire which was emitting a calming warmth, and their favourite classic Christmas songs playing at a nice volume in the background mixed in with their chatter and laughter. As much as she hated the word itself, it all felt pretty damn perfect.

But she just couldn’t shake the nagging thought at the back of her mind telling her that somebody was missing.

When it had quite rapidly hit midnight, everyone started to make their way up to bed, all being exhausted from the journey and desperately needing a long sleep before the following evening’s festivities (Betty and Archie being the only two knowing just how big of a celebration it was actually going to be). Betty was one of the first to say good night, covering her mouth as she yawned and giving Veronica a quick hug, thanking her again for letting them stay. And, as she shut her door behind her, quickly changing into her pyjamas and sinking into the softest bed she’d ever laid on in her life, everything else melted away rather quickly, and before she even had time to think about much else at all.

 _Crash_.

Her eyes opened slowly, still in and out of a dream which she thought might have been quite good, but she had quickly forgotten. Had there been a noise, or had she imagined it? Shutting her eyes once more, she felt herself begin to drift again.

 _Bang_.

 _Ok_ , she thought, _that was definitely a noise_. Turning on her side, she pressed the home button of her phone and saw that it was 2:30 in the morning. Who the hell was still up at this time? Suddenly, a wave of anxiety came over her. Had they locked the front door? She couldn’t remember seeing anyone do it. There wasn’t another lodge in sight for a good fifteen minutes, seeing as they’d picked the most secluded they could find, so the noise couldn’t possibly have been any neighbours. There was another bang, causing her to abruptly sit upright, rubbing her eyes so that she was now fully awake. It was coming from downstairs, she was sure of it.

Adrenaline seeped through her entire body as she hopped out of bed, searching around the room nervously for something to potentially defend herself with. She grabbed her phone and sent a message to the group chat asking if anyone was awake, but after five minutes of total silence she knew she couldn’t possibly fall back asleep now. _It’s nothing_ , she kept telling herself. But she knew she had to do something, to put her mind at ease if anything. Retrieving the one thing she had in plain view to use as a weapon of sorts, she pulled on her dressing gown and very slowly opened her door, careful not to make a sound. She could hear whispers then, mixed with faint laughter. Perhaps some of them couldn’t sleep and had gotten up again. Nonetheless, she kept her hairbrush firmly in her hands raised in the air. She had dealt with so much in her teenage years, surely she could deal with this, whatever it may be.

Approaching the bottom step, the laughter and the whispers and the shushes got a little louder, indicating that whoever it was was located in the kitchen just a few feet away from her. After counting to three in her head about ten times, Betty closed her eyes, took a deep breath and leaped out, unintentionally screeching.

The couple before her jumped so quickly that one of them hit their head on the counter above them, gasping in pain and staring in disbelief at one another in the dark, the only light coming from the moon streaming through the blinds. Suddenly, everything moved rather quickly.

“Betty?!”

“Brian?!” She cried back, dropping her brush to the ground, her eyes quickly darting to the person whose waist was underneath his hands, sat firmly on the kitchen counter. It wasn’t difficult to determine what she’d just walked in on. “Kevin?!”

“Oh, god,” he uttered, hopping down and gently pulling Betty further into the kitchen, urging her to keep her voice down.

“What is going on?” She whispered in shock. “You? And Brian?!”

“Ok, I will explain everything, just please try and be quiet.”

“I really think you should be telling yourself that.”

After Betty took a few moments to process what exactly she had interrupted, the three of them briskly moved into the living room area and perched at the edge of a long sofa, careful not to make a noise and wake up the others. Surprisingly, Betty’s screech hadn’t seem to have done so.

To her disbelief, Kevin opened his mouth and everything spilled out rather at once. She discovered, and was incredibly shocked to hear, that Brian and Kevin had been secretly dating for a month now; secretly being the operative word due to the fact Brian hadn’t been ready to come out just yet. He had done so to some of his closest friends, but a group of people he didn’t know very well scared him, along with the fact that he was keeping it from his parents. And so, it was, as he referred to it, _a forbidden romance._

“So, that’s why you acted so weird when you heard Brian’s name earlier?”

Kevin swallowed, confirming her query. “This has to stay between us,” he said, “at least for now. Please, Betty?”

Betty nodded, looking down at her hands in her lap, her head spinning as she tried to understand it all. “Of course,” she promised.

“And maybe we should pretend for a while, so nobody suspects anything,” Brian added.

“Pretend what?”

“That we’re together or something.”

“You want me to get into a fake relationship with you, Brian?”

“I know it sounds crazy,” he pleaded. “I just need time. Just a little. We swear that we’ll tell them before the trip is up.”

Betty looked at her best friend then back at the guy she thought she’d have to let down gently sooner rather than later (oh how wrong she was) and exhaled, throwing her hands up. “Ok.”

“Ok?”

“I’ll do it,” she said, half reeling from this totally unexpected revelation and half grateful she hadn’t just bumped into a serial killer as she had convinced herself she would. “But everyone here is really great, Brian. When you’re ready, they’ll be more than happy for you. You can trust them.”

“Thank you, Betty,” he stuttered with sincerity, as Kevin nodded along and told her he’d make it up to her somehow.

“You’d better,” she said under her breath half-heartedly. She was too nice sometimes. She often worried that people perhaps took that for granted.

When they finally said good night, faintly smiling in genuine appreciation and cautiously heading upstairs, Betty sighed deeply, laughing in disbelief to herself and falling back onto the couch, stretching her legs out and closing her eyes for a few moments. Part of her was relieved, although she hated lying to her friends, but she knew it was for the greater good and only for a couple of days. When Betty thought her life couldn’t possibly get much more tragic, it turned out that her set up was taken, and no less by the best friend she’d agreed to marry if she was still single in seven years. Perhaps she really was destined to be alone. The dramatic events of one evening had really been much more exhausting than she'd anticipated, and she hoped the weekend would calm down a little from here on out. You couldn’t have made this stuff up, that's for sure.

She must’ve briefly drifted off, because another bang caused her to awaken suddenly, not having realised she’d even fallen asleep in the first place, which briefly startled her. She sat up, a little less frantic than the last time, yawning and clutching her temple, feeling a dull headache creeping in from her continued failed attempts at a decent night’s sleep.

“Did you forget something?” She chuckled, raising her head and tucking her hair behind her ear. As she opened her eyes fully, she could’ve sworn her heart missed a beat. She very abruptly stood up straight, her breath catching in her throat as she stared at the stranger who had just let himself through the door, almost terrified of blinking and missing a second of what was about to happen. It seemed that neither of them were brave enough to move.

_No, it couldn’t be… could it?_

“Betty.”

The sound of her name sent shivers up her spine as it fell from his lips so delicately; a voice she hadn’t heard in so many years, and a sound she had prepared herself to never hear again. Just a whisper, but one she’d have recognised anywhere. He was stood there, in the flesh, encased in a darkness mixed with moonlight. Just he and her and a deafening silence. It wasn’t a stranger at all. It was someone she once knew better than she’d known herself.

She exhaled finally, her voice shaking and unsure.

“Jughead?”


	2. Old Habits Die Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty deals with Jughead's unexpected arrival, a heated dip in the pool, an impromptu game of truth or dare, and a lie or two intertwined.

“Jughead?”

There was a pause, the cold breeze of the world outside creeping in and climbing up her spine in an all too familiar shiver.

“Come in,” she blurted finally, shaking her head to compose herself, walking over to shut the door behind him, “you must be freezing.”

“Yeah,” he swallowed, his eyes glued to her as though to make sure she was real before dropping his gaze to the ground. “I'm sorry it's so late. I got a little held up.”

They were suddenly much closer than she’d initially anticipated. She found herself studying his face as if she didn’t know how not to, if only for a brief moment. _He hadn't changed much at all_ , she found herself thinking. Perhaps a little older and a little rougher around the edges.

He had a scar above his lip that she hadn’t seen before, and she had a sudden urge to reach out and touch it, as though the pain he’d experienced without her was something she could just wipe away.

She didn’t do that, of course. Instead, she gulped, holding her breath as she brushed past him, creating a comfortable distance between them once more. Whatever he’d done for the past four years wasn’t her business anymore. She knew that. She had to respect that.

“We thought you weren’t coming,” she found herself admitting, “there are a few cases in your room but you should be able to still make it to the bed… Providing Cheryl really hasn't put everything she owns in there,” she released a nervous laugh, suddenly unsure of how to act, and incredibly conscious of the fact they were alone.

He nodded in response, grinning as his eyes fell to inspect every inch of her stood before him. It made her stomach flip.

“Do you want a hot drink or anything?” She asked, clasping her hands together, terrified of what the silence might bring.

“No,” he uttered, his eyes returning to meet hers, “thank you. I should probably get up to bed, actually.”

She shook her head, forgetting how late it was. _What time actually was it?_ Probably too late for a hot drink. “Right, yeah, of course. Me too. I’ll, uh, show you to your room.”

Smiling, she gestured for him to follow, which he did with his duffel bag hauled over his shoulder once more. They promptly made their way to the room on the second floor directly underneath hers, careful not to make a sound and wake anyone up, providing they hadn’t done so already.

“Here we go,” she said, pushing down on the door handle and opening it for him, standing aside for him to get past. She turned her head as he brushed past her, keeping outside of the room which she suddenly felt embarrassed about entering, as though she would be overstepping some sort of weird, unspoken boundary.

“Nice,” he said with a faint smile, admiring the room in all its glory. “Who had to sell their soul for this?”

She giggled, lingering in the doorway. “I was going to say Veronica’s parents, but they were pretty soulless to begin with,” she whispered. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

He laughed at this, looking down, then back up again with a sadness in his eyes that wasn’t there previously. One that she instantly mirrored with her own. Breaking the stare after a few moments, she forced another smile and straightened her frame.

“Well,” she said, clearing her throat, “I guess I’ll leave you to it. Good night.”

“Good night,” he replied, watching as she went to leave, calling out her name before he could even think about whether he should or not. “Betty-”

She turned back, anxious about what he was going to say. Her name on his lips was always something she loved to hear, even more so after all of these years.

“It’s really good to see you.”

There was so much sincerity in his voice, as though he wanted to say much more but thought better of it. Four long years hanging in the air in the early hours of morning; a million broken pieces scattered all around them.

“You too, Jug.”

-

When she awoke around six hours later, she thought she might have dreamt the whole thing. To her surprise, she was the last up, and she soon came to the realisation that she hadn’t dreamt it at all. As she made her way down the stairs, she rubbed her eyes and couldn’t quite comprehend how exhausted she was. Jughead was there, sat at the table eating pancakes with Archie as Veronica made herself a coffee and the rest of the group sat watching something on the TV.

“Hey, B, do you want a coffee?” Veronica cried, the mention of her presence causing

Jughead to instantly turn his head. They held each other’s gaze for a brief moment, until Betty broke away from it.

“What?” She asked.

“A coffee,” she repeated, raising her brows. “Would you like one?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” she said, walking over to give Veronica a hand. Veronica looked back to make sure nobody was close enough to hear them before continuing. They kept their backs turned.

“So, Jughead’s here,” she uttered quietly, “I was going to warn you-“

“It’s ok,” Betty replied, “I saw him last night.”

“Last night? He said he got in after 4am. What were you doing up?”

“Just getting some water,” she lied.

Veronica furrowed her brows momentarily before returning her attention to stirring the freshly poured coffee, the spoon tapping the inside of the mug every so often. “I hope it's not too awkward with Brian here,” she continued.

 _Oh shoot,_ _Brian_. She’d forgotten all about him. She’d forgotten all about what she’d agreed to. His late night rendezvous with Kevin and the blossoming of their fake relationship that she had barely even thought twice about. _You know, the norm._

Placing herself down in an empty seat opposite Jughead and beside Archie, she yawned and took a sip from her coffee which was much stronger than she was used to. She winced.

“Long night?” Archie laughed as Betty cupped the drink in her hands and went to open her mouth.

“We stayed up all night talking,” Brian interjected, abruptly placing himself beside Betty and smiling as he draped an arm around her.

She couldn’t go back on what she’d promised, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t going to be awkward as hell now that Jughead was sat right in front of them. _How did she always seem to put herself in these ridiculous situations?_

“Yep,” she replied, hoping somebody would change the subject as she took a sip from her mug and deliberately kept her words to a minimum.

“We even shared a kiss,” he declared, loud enough so everyone in the room had blatantly heard and were now looking their way in amusement.

Betty almost choked on her coffee, startling everyone at the table as she wiped her mouth and coughed for a few moments. Kevin flinched, mirroring the room’s shocked expression in an attempt to play along.

“A kiss?” Veronica repeated with her jaw dropped slightly. “Betty Cooper, you kept that quiet.”

“Well, you know me” she mumbled, taking another sip, “not one to kiss and tell.”

“See,” she said, feeling quite proud of herself, “I knew you two would hit it off.”

Betty glanced at Brian and couldn’t ignore the desperation in his eyes, remembering her promise, and reminding herself not to be selfish as her face softened. She reached over and placed her hand over his, smiling as she did so. Stealing a glance at Jughead, she realised how his eyes were now fixated to the table below him.

_Yeah, this was definitely going to be awkward._

“Anyway,” Cheryl interrupted, throwing on her white fur coat and wrapping a red satin scarf around her neck, “as much as I want to hear all about your and Brian’s night of passion; I’m going to try and find cell service. Anyone coming?”

“I will,” Josie agreed, “fancy a walk, Reg?”

“Sure,” he muttered, hopping up out of his seat to pull his shoes on.

“Actually, I’d kind of like to call my sister,” Jughead said quietly, grabbing his jacket which was draped over the back of his chair and avoiding eye contact with everyone at the table, “let her know I’m not dead.”

“Just walk a few feet behind me if you can,” Cheryl bellowed, eyeing Jughead and raising a finger, “I have a reputation to uphold.”

“You and me both,” he replied, causing her to raise a brow and slide her sunglasses on. They’d never admit it, but they both had kind of missed each other’s banter, in a weird way. It held a strange feeling of nostalgia; one that they hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Hey,” Archie called, running to catch up with Jughead as he zipped up his coat and went to close the front door, “I thought I should probably call my dad, too.”

“It’s nice to see Cheryl hasn’t changed a bit,” he uttered, his combat boots crunching through the snow as they both sniggered, making their way down the small hill the cabin was sat on top of.

“I’m glad you decided to come,” Archie cried as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, “feels like it’s been years.”

“Well,” Jughead replied, glancing at his best friend and raising his brows, “It kind of has. Looks like things with Veronica are going well?”

“They are,” he smiled, “they really are.”

“Good,” he replied, “I’m glad.”

It started to snow, just a little bit, the flakes gathering in Jughead’s dark, beanie-less hair. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d worn the thing.

“Listen, Jug,” Archie started, “this thing with Betty-“

Jughead furrowed his brows, exhaling deeply, really hoping the subject wasn’t going to come up as soon as it had. “Archie, seriously, you don’t have to-“

“Do you still have feelings for her? I just gotta ask…”

He wasn’t expecting the question to come out so abruptly, and for a moment he was completely lost for words. Archie nodded at his silence, the unspoken saying more than he ever could. Nobody could read Jughead’s face like Archie when it came to Betty Cooper.

“I want her to be happy,” he said finally, as if battling with himself over whether he should or not. “Do you think she is?”

Archie turned his attention back to the bright, white blanket of snow before them and shook his head with a shrug. “I think so. She keeps herself busy, you know? She never really stops.”

And with that, Jughead said nothing more about it, because he did know. That was Betty all over; working herself into the ground and putting everyone else before herself. He used to tell her she needed to look after herself more, but she very rarely took his words into account. He wished now he could kiss her hair like he used to do. He wondered if Brian would do the same.

“How’s things with your mom and dad? And JB?”

Jughead was grateful for the change in conversation, even if the subject was a little bit of a touchy one. His family life always was, in one way or another.

“As ok as they can be,” he admitted. “Mom and dad are together; they’ve really been trying, you know? My dad’s been sober for three years.”

“Wow, Jug, that’s amazing.”

He nodded with a smile. “Mom works a lot, but she’s doing well. JB is a typical teenager; she shuts herself in her room a lot and blasts her music, which, may I add, is usually pretty damn good. I guess she learned from the best.”

They both laughed.

“I’m so glad everything has worked out.”

Jughead lowered his gaze and frowned ever so fleetingly, hoping Archie hadn’t noticed before he composed himself again. “Yeah, I guess they have. Thanks, Arch.”

-

When they returned once more to the cabin after a couple of hours of phone calls home, social media checking and a questionable amount of coffee from a café in the centre of the local village, Veronica, Kevin and Brian were sat watching The Grinch in front of the fire; one of Jughead’s only Christmas films he could really tolerate. _He was just misunderstood_ , he often told Betty as she teased him and laughed, calling him Mr. Grinch and assigning hotdog the role of Max as they giggled and kissed and hotdog jumped on top of them to join in the fun. They watched it every Christmas before he left. The sight of it now tugged at something inside of him.

“All good?” Veronica asked as Archie leant down to plant a soft kiss on her lips.

“Yep,” he replied, “everything’s fine back in Riverdale. Same old.”

Betty emerged a few moments later, wrapped in a towel, pulling her hair out of its elastic. She was conscious of the eyes on her, one set in particular, as she placed a hand on her hip and smiled.

“Anyone up for a swim?”

-

She bounded back inside after a good twenty minutes of pool time, her hair damp as it fell down her back, wearing nothing but a white, strapless swimming costume. Jughead felt his eyes wander as he swallowed, reminding himself to stop.

“Hey,” she said, “you not coming out?”

He laughed as he clutched onto his book. “Didn't pack my non-existent swimming trunks, sadly.”

“I'm sure one of the guys packed a spare. It's heated and the view is gorgeous.”

He toyed with the corner of the page he was on. “I don't think so.”

“Oh, come on, Juggie.” She froze as soon as she said it, the old nickname just slipping out unintentionally. He was just as alarmed as she was, but they both tried desperately not to show it. In fact, something about it didn’t feel out of place in the slightest. Her smile didn’t even falter.

Just for a moment, it felt like no time had passed at all.

“You sure are persistent, Cooper,” he said with a raised brow and tilt of his head, closing the book and placing it onto the coffee table.

She grinned, ecstatic with her victory. “Old habits die hard, Jones.”

-

When Jughead finally emerged after a good ten minutes of refusing to borrow Reggie’s spare pair of speedos and instead opting for an old pair of shorts that Archie had brought with him, even Cheryl tilted her sunglasses to get a better look.

“Wow, who knew Jughead Jones worked out,” Kevin whispered as Betty tore her eyes away and shook her head in response.

“Pass me that,” she muttered, as Kevin obliged, handing over her pina colada that was sat on the side. She looked at Jughead once more, taking a long sip, surprised to find that this time he was looking right back at her as he ran a hand through his hair.

_He needed to stop doing that._

Suddenly, Betty flinched as a huge wave of water hit her from behind. Her jaw dropped as she turned to see Brian smirking at her.

“Brian,” she said, widening her eyes through a gritted smile.

“Sorry, Betts,” he replied, swimming away, “you were an easy target.”

 _Betts_. It was only Jughead who had ever called her that in the past, and she was quite abruptly well aware of his eyes burning on her, but she refused to look up again. It was such a long time ago, and it was probably all in her head, anyway. Instead, she placed her drink back down and followed Brian who was looking much too smug for her liking.

“I’ll show you an easy target,” she declared, grabbing him by the arm and splashing the water at him as he shielded his face and cackled. Soon, the others joined in, and a spontaneous water fight had begun, everyone taking part in a mixture of screams and laughter. Everyone except for one.

“So, Brian,” the sound of Jughead’s voice almost came out of nowhere, as the two of them stopped still and turned to face him. He was leaning against the side of the pool, his arms outstretched behind him, the small glimmer of afternoon sun highlighting the green in his eyes. He wasn’t smiling but, then again, he rarely did.

“What is it you do?” He continued nonchalantly, raising a brow. Betty and Archie exchanged a look, wondering what the hell he was doing and where he was going.

Brian wiped the water from his face and floated a little more to the side, clearly a little taken aback at the unexpected, abrupt exchange. “Uh, I work in the gas station back in Riverdale.”

“The gas station?.”

“Yeah,” Brian laughed warmly, ignoring Jughead’s quite blatant hint of sarcasm, “it’s not the most exciting job in the world but-”

“No, it sounds riveting,” he said dryly. “Do you see yourself doing that forever?”

He shrugged. “Not forever, just until I’m on my feet. It doesn’t pay much, but it’s enough to get me by.”

Jughead nodded, pushing himself upright. “Can’t imagine it’s very intellectually stimulating. Well, that much is obvious.”

“Jughead!” Betty interjected, her voice much more raised than she’d anticipated, furrowing her brows and folding her arms.

“I’m just trying to get to know your boyfriend, Betty.”

“Well, you’re being damn rude, so stop.”

He didn’t know what to say to this, instead he exhaled and shook his head, pulling himself out of the pool as he grabbed his towel and made his way back inside. Nobody dared to speak, and Betty could feel something raging inside of her. _How dare he do this?_

“I’m so sorry about that,” she mumbled, smiling at Brian who was being way too nice, she was starting to learn that about him. “Excuse me,” she continued, climbing up out of the water and quickly running a towel through her hair before stepping inside.

“What the hell?” She cried, throwing her hands up at Jughead who was now leaning against the kitchen counter, droplets of water running down his toned chest. “What was that all about?”

He kept his gaze to the ground, his face a mixture of angry, upset and ashamed. He was hard to read at times, but she had had a lot of practice, after all. “I knew I shouldn’t have come.”

“Why? Because of Brian?”

“Because of everything, Betty,” he pushed himself off of the counter and sighed. “We’re not kids; I don’t even know these people anymore. I don’t know you.”

“That’s the whole point of this thing,” she bellowed. “To spend some time together again, like the old days.”

“But it’s not really, is it? And that guy? Do you seriously like him?”

She broke eye contact briefly, clutching her temple. She knew he’d see right through her; he always did. “What’s it to you?”

“Do you?”

He was closer then, just a few steps filling the space between them, the damp warmth of his skin just a few millimetres from touching her own. Her heart was beating against her chest, her breath catching in her throat.

Her voice cracked. “Stop it.“

“Stop what?”

She breathed him in, certain he was about to lean forward, before she remembered where she was and who she was. She pulled away, swallowing and taking a few steps back.

“You’re right, you don’t know me. Now, I’m making dinner for everyone tonight. You’ll get off your high horse and apologise to Brian,” she declared, “or you can go home.”

He said nothing this time, words just wouldn’t come, no sarcastic comments or deserved apology, instead he watched her walk away and return back outside, jumping into the pool with a laugh and a squeal as if nothing had even happened. He sighed, dragging himself up the stairs and deciding he needed some space, not just for his sake but for everyone else’s. _Maybe he should go home._ _What the hell had he gotten himself into?_

-

As promised, Betty, with the help of everyone else here and there, made a little buffet that went down a storm once the sun had set and the pool time had drawn to a close. Everyone had re-dressed and were warming themselves up in front of the fire before she’d announced that the food was ready. Her hair had dried into beachy waves, which she had pulled back for cooking purposes. A few strands fell in front now and again, and she tucked them swiftly behind her ears.

“This is delicious. Thank you, Betty,” Josie chimed, taking a bite out of the best pie she thought she’d ever tasted as cutlery clinked around the table in a silent agreement.

“Yeah, B, you've outdone yourself as always,” Veronica smiled, giving her arm a little squeeze.

Betty thanked them for their kindness and felt her cheeks flush at all of the praise. A few more moments passed before Jughead cleared his throat. “Brian, about earlier…”

“It's ok,” he said, lifting his head to meet a softer, more vulnerable expression that he hadn’t seen before, “don't worry.”

“No,” he continued, “I was a total dick. There's no excuse, and I’m sorry.”

Brian nodded with a smile, and Betty kept her eyes on her food. “Apology accepted.”

“Everyone done?” Reggie asked as the silence returned, collecting the empty plates as everyone proceeded to take their final bites.

“Wow,” Veronica grinned, “looks like you have him well trained.”

Josie giggled, handing her plate and saying a quiet _thanks babe_. “Since we've moved in together, I told him he has to pull his weight.”

“Whipped,” Archie bellowed, to which Reggie rolled his eyes.

“You can talk, Archiekins,” Veronica beamed. “You’re the best boyfriend I could ask for. Minus the complete lack of cooking skills.”

Cheryl motioned to sticking her finger down her throat before downing the last of her wine and jumping up out of her chair. “Enough of the cheese fest. Now everyone’s done eating, let's play a good old game of truth or dare.”

They all exchanged looks and subsequent groans, knowing how Cheryl’s games of truth or dare, or _secrets and sins_ , as she liked to call it, used to go in high school. Hint: they never ended well. And somebody was usually crying.

“Oh, calm down,” she cried, “light hearted and fun, I promise.”

“Wow,” Jughead said dryly, taking the couch opposite after placing his plate into the sink and offering to wash up. Reggie refused, clearly wanting to get out of the game just as much as he was, “you're a changed woman.”

Everyone else followed hesitantly, perching on the edge of the sofas and bringing their drinks with them. Betty took a long gulp, she thought she might need it. This could not be a good idea.

“Jughead,” Cheryl cried, so abruptly that everyone jumped a little, “truth or dare.”

He shook his head with an eyeroll, _of course she’d have made him go first_. “So, we’re jumping right in then. Dare, I guess?”

“Ok,” she grinned, her eyes darting around the room as if she was planning something mischievous, “I dare you to kiss Betty, and mean it.”

“Cheryl,” Archie interjected almost instantly as he crumpled his face up, “stop it.”

“What's the problem?” she sneered as she threw her arms up. “You don't have feelings for each other anymore. It's just a dare.”

Veronica widened her eyes. “Cheryl, don't.”

“Fine,” she cried, folding her arms, “truth then. Jughead, _do_ you still have feelings for Betty?”

He felt a little shell-shocked, if he was being honest. It was a question Archie had asked her earlier in the day, and it was one he couldn’t find the words to answer. It was weird, being away from someone for four years; someone who you used to see every single day. It was a situation that was difficult to approach, especially when everyone you went to high school with was watching your every move all at once.

“No,” he muttered quite quickly, studying his hands in his lap and frowning, refusing to lift his gaze. The awkwardness in the air was incredibly uncomfortable all of a sudden, even more so than it already had been.

Cheryl pursed her lips together and formed an awkward smile, diverting her eyes to Betty whose discomfort was visible. “Ouch.”

“Let's move on,” Kevin decided, his eyes darting around nervously, desperate to lighten the mood again. One minute they were eating pie, next they were being grilled about their long, lost love lives. Then again, this sounded pretty standard behaviour for Cheryl Blossom. How could anyone of them have been surprised?

“Veronica,” Archie breathed, breaking the momentary silence, “truth or dare?”

It felt like everyone had exhaled after simultaneously holding their breath, as she giggled and turned her head, slipping her hand in his. “Umm, truth.”

“No.”

Betty’s ears perked up; she knew what he was doing, and she could barely suppress her smile at the realisation. This was it. She hoped Veronica had gotten a manicure.

_What was she thinking? It was Veronica. When didn’t she have a manicure?_

“What?”

“It's gonna have to be a dare.”

She laughed nervously as he stood up, pulling her up to do the same. They were standing directly in front of each other and Veronica was suddenly a mixture of excited, intrigued, and terrified. “Archie-”

“Veronica,” he murmured, getting down on one knee and retrieving a small, black box from his pocket in one swift movement as the whole room gasped. She thought she might burst into tears as he took a deep breath. “I dare you to marry me.”

_Now, that was certainly one way to change the mood._

“Oh my god,” Kevin beamed.

“Veronica?” Archie breathed, a brow raising slightly as his heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

She smiled then, her teeth a white as perfect as the pearls around her neck. Everyone exhaled, and the uncomfortableness in the air melted away entirely.

“Yes, yes, yes!”

-

“Hey, everyone’s headed upstairs, I think the water fight and the engagement paired with dealing with Cheryl has worn everyone out,” Betty laughed, walking over and placing herself down beside a lonely Brian sat beside the pool. He looked like something was on his mind, and she wondered if maybe she should’ve left him by himself for a while.

“I’m sorry again about Jughead,” she continued as she lowered her head. “He had no right to speak to you the way he did. He knows that now, I guess.”

Brian allowed himself to smile, his eyes running over the snow in the distance, which contrasted so beautifully with the warmth of the sky.

“What happened with you two? If you don't mind me asking?”

“I don't mind,” she smiled back, her thoughts catching up with her; thoughts she’d pushed aside for years and years. “It was a long time ago now. We fell in love when we were sixteen, and we were happy for a little while. Every force in the universe was out to pry us apart, but we persevered… for as long as we could, anyway. Sometimes things just don’t work out, I guess.”

Brian nodded, leaning back on his forearms and sighing, allowing the comfortable silence to fill the space around them for a few moments. “I think I might be in love with Kevin.”

“Wow,” Betty’s face lit up, “Brian. Really? That’s amazing.”

“Maybe. I’m not so sure if it is.”

Her expression faltered ever so slightly. “How so?”

He smiled with a sting, staring at the sun disappearing behind the hills as if deep in thought, running over past events in his mind. “My parents,” he started.

“Ah.”

“They’re good people really. They’re just very traditional; a little cold at times. They never show affection to one another, not even to me. That’s why this whole thing has been really difficult for me.”

Betty said nothing, instead studied his face and nodded, understanding to some extent. Her parents weren’t the warmest people in the world, and their family never came without its problems. Her relationship with a southside serpent definitely wasn’t something they’d ever come to agree with.

“It’s stupid, really.”

“No,” she said softly, “it’s not. Brian, you can’t help who you love, and let me tell you that Kevin is one of the good ones. You have a huge support system behind you, even more so now.”

“Thank you,” he croaked after a moment, “for this. For doing what you’re doing. I really hope we can be friends when we get back to Riverdale.”

Betty smiled, reaching over and giving his arm a squeeze as the sun had turned their faces a pink and orange hue. “Absolutely.”

Once back inside, she said good night to Brian with a warm hug, promptly turning around to grab herself a glass of water before bed as she pulled her hair out of its low ponytail, jumping when she realised she wasn’t the only person in the room. He was standing, breathing heavily, his arms dropped to his side. He looked nervous. Something about it excited her.

“Betty.”

She sighed, sure she couldn’t find the energy for another potential argument, her voice low and exhausted as she walked over to the sink and grabbed a clean glass out of the cupboard.

“What?”

“Before,” he swallowed, standing fixated in the spot he’d chosen for himself, “with Cheryl-“

She shook her head, running the tap to fill her glass. “Jughead, it’s getting late-“

“I lied.”

She stopped for a moment, not expecting him to say it out loud, the water still running as the glass started to overflow. Her heart quickened as she let her gaze fall then lift again almost instantly. She turned off the tap and faced him. Her eyes softened, and she nodded.

“I know.”

 _God, she wanted to kiss him then._ Just to remind herself what it felt like. Just once. To cup his face in her hands and feel his wrap around her waist. She wanted it more than anything, and she knew he did too, but the both of them knew better.

After all, there was a reason they weren’t together anymore.

Instead of acting on their impulses, neither of them said another word. Betty smiled faintly, a part of her not really wanting to go, before turning on her heel and slowly heading up the stairs. _She knew. Of course she knew._

She thought he might want to call after her again, in fact a part of her was sure that he did, but he didn’t. And as she took a sip from her glass and slipped into bed that night, she had only one thing on her mind. Then, as sleep crept up on her, nothing.


	3. Ferris Wheel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group go into town for ice skating, hot drinks and fairground rides. One of which results in an unexpected conversation. History has a tendency of repeating itself in the strangest ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. I am so, so sorry for taking so long to publish this. I've been SO busy since Christmas but I'm getting my ass back into gear now. Part 4 is also nearly finished so you won't be waiting too long for that. I hope this story is still something you're interested in. <3

“Ice skating?” The words fell out of his mouth with a bitter taste, as though he'd never heard anything so crazy in all of his life. Betty and Veronica were stood blocking three quarters of the television, which Reggie wasn’t particularly happy about, clutching onto a couple of pairs of old ice skates.

“Found them in the utility shed outside,” Veronica declared, looking pretty pleased with herself, “there are enough for everyone, providing they fit.”

“Did the pool somehow freeze over overnight?” Kevin laughed, exchanging a warm smile with Brian, which made Betty’s heart swell a little, especially after Brian’s confession last night.

She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear and rolled her eyes half-heartedly. “There’s an ice skating rink in the village nearby. Not only that, but there’s coffee and food and I think even a couple of little fairground rides.”

“Have to keep the children occupied,” Jughead said dryly, throwing a glance at Reggie before they both sniggered.

“Come on, guys,” she continued, “it’ll be fun.”

“I’m in,” Cheryl said almost immediately, prompting a myriad of raised eyebrows.

“Really?”

She stood, switching the TV off and provoking a couple of sighs and groans. “JJ and I were trained how to ice skate from as soon as we could walk. I’m your very own ice princess.”

“Ok, Cheryl, let it go,” Archie said, as everyone closed their eyes and shook their heads.

“God, Archie,” Jughead replied, “that was bad, even for you.”

Veronica rolled her eyes as if to say _I can’t believe I’m marrying you_ , before raising the skates slightly in a hopeful shrug.

“So, what do you say?”

-

The walk to the village wasn’t as long as Betty had initially anticipated, even in the snow. She’d deliberately left her phone in her room so that she wouldn’t be tempted to check social media on the off chance she acquired a single bar of service; she knew it was bad for her mental health, and she was quite frankly enjoying living in her email-free, stress-free bubble for the weekend. She’d told Archie to let her family know she was safe and well, so that wasn’t an issue. She had never put herself first before, not like this, so it was almost alien to her, but she found herself thinking that perhaps she should do it more often.

_Yes_ , she thought, _I’m going to take care of myself in the new year._

When they approached the village, her eyes widened. It was beautiful. Like something out of the snow globes that sat on the Cooper household’s fireplace every Christmas time. Quaint, humble, but stunning; especially with the glistening blanket of snow. It was like being in another world; one she’d only read about in books.

Truth be told, Betty hadn’t been ice skating since she was about ten years old during the worst snow fall in Riverdale history, where sweet water river had completely frozen over. It probably wasn’t very safe, looking back, but she’d remembered it as being one of the best days she’d ever had. Back when her and her sister were completely inseparable, laughing and holding onto each other and promising _when we’re older we’ll travel to New York and go skating in Times Square._ It had been a dream she’d secretly held onto for the majority of her life, so when Polly went and did it with Jason, and without her, she’d naturally felt a little disheartened.

Not that it mattered. Things changed and life moved on. That was just the way that it was.

Suddenly, she was immediately brought back to reality as she slipped, much too far away from the side lines to grab onto something. Just before she fell backwards onto the cold, hard ice beneath her, a pair of warm hands on her waist steadied her once more. Her heart was pounding.

“Careful.”

She exhaled, very much aware of the breath warm on her neck and who it belonged to, as she turned around and smiled. He was still holding onto her, and something about it made her want to melt into him in every way a person could.

“Where the hell did you learn to ice skate?” She asked as she hesitantly grabbed onto his outstretched arm and followed at a slightly quicker pace than she was previously moving at.

He shrugged, his same old Jughead Jones shrug, and tucked his free hand into his pocket. “Someone had to take JB when Christmas rolled around. I kind of got the hang of it, I guess.”

“Wow,” Cheryl interjected, skating past them like a professional as the wind blew through her hair. “Look at you two. What is this, high school?”

Betty looked down, the weight of reality embarrassing her suddenly. Especially after what he’d said last night. _I lied._ Now that she came to think of it, should she not have jumped to conclusions? He was acting like nothing had happened. Perhaps he wasn’t referring to his lack of feelings for her; perhaps it was his dislike of sprouts, or something.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked quietly, as she gripped onto him a little tighter.

“Sprouts,” she blurted out, immediately furrowing her brows at herself and looking away.

Jughead laughed, and bumped into her side playfully. The simple gesture was so natural, so strange, yet it made her heart flutter. “Ok.”

She swallowed, considering whether to say what was going through her mind or not. He seemed to notice, studying her face as though silently urging her to do so.

“What?” He asked finally, his voice a little shaky.

“I should probably tell you,” she looked down, “I saw your dad. Last year. He came back to Riverdale.”

“What?” His body tensed suddenly. “What do you mean?”

She decided to look at him, but his stare was so intense she was terrified of getting lost in it, so she looked away once more.

“He was in Pop’s, he saw me and he came over, to be polite I guess. We talked for a little while. He seems to be doing really well, Jug. I’m so glad.”

“Yeah,” he replied, confusion masking his expression, but a hint of warmth still present in his tone, “he is… What exactly did he say to you?”

She opened her mouth to reply, taking a breath before they were interrupted.

“I think I can take it from here,” Brian said coyly, appearing almost out of nowhere and bursting their perfect little momentary bubble.

Jughead looked almost taken aback, and so did she, as though the both of them had forgotten he was even there. More so, forgotten that they weren’t a couple of teenagers in love anymore. He nodded, gesturing for her to go. She so desperately didn’t want to, her gut was telling her to stay, but she knew that she couldn’t. She couldn’t break her promise, and plus, Brian was becoming a quick friend to her. Spending time with him was nowhere near as bad as she’d initially convinced herself of. She’d actually been really enjoying his company.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, once she’d switched onto a less familiar grip and left Jughead by himself, glancing back and watching his face drop ever so slightly. “Just trying to keep up the pretence.  
  
“It’s ok,” she replied, turning back around as she gulped, “you seem to be just as bad as me at this so if we go down at least we go down together. 

He laughed at this, directing them to the side so that they could hold onto the wall for a moment and catch a breath without the fear of breaking a bone or two. Trying to keep yourself intact when you had no idea how to do so had proved to be really quite exhausting.

“I just wanted to tell you,” he said quietly as Betty rubbed her hands together and breathed warm air into them, “you won’t have to keep this up for much longer. I’m planning on coming clean. 

Betty raised her brows with a smile as she reached over to touch his arm. “You sure?”

“Yeah,” he breathed, diverting his gaze to Kevin who was in some sort of competition to out-skate Cheryl, and pretty much losing. He appeared to give in and began to make his way over as soon as they caught each other’s gaze.

“Hey, you two,” he cried, breathing heavily, “the group’s been talking about getting some food, then heading to check out the fair. What do you think?”

The pair exchanged a look and smiled with a shrug. “Sure.”

-

The sun was already descending when the group decided to go on the beautifully picturesque ferris wheel as the final part of their fun fair venture. Everyone had paired up, except for Cheryl who had decided she needed to find more hot chocolate and, especially, some decent cell service. She wasn’t coping well without it; a Cheryl-esque tantrum had been on the cards for the majority of the afternoon, but that was nothing new.

Betty found herself shrugging as she went to sit down, accepting the fact that she’d be doing this one alone. Her fake boyfriend had sat beside his real boyfriend and she thought it best to allow them a little time by themselves without the watchful eye of everyone else. She didn’t mind, in fact, she thought she’d enjoy a ten minute reflection to catch up with how strange the past couple of days had actually been.

“Room for one more?”

A familiar voice startled her, the source bringing out a smile as she gestured for him to sit. His face was lit up by the blue and red lights reflecting off of the large $10 PER RIDE sign, a price that Veronica had naturally argued was far too extravagant, yet decided to pay for everyone anyway as some sort of additional Christmas gift.

 “Of course.”

A comfortable silence ensued as they turned their gazes to opposite directions and felt themselves begin to lift off of the ground.

“You know,” Betty said, keeping her eyes on the crowd growing smaller and smaller beneath them, “if you’d have told me this time last year I’d be sat on a ferris wheel with you, I would not have believed it.”

Jughead laughed softly, he turned to look at her for a brief moment, then back over at the snow-encased mountains that were peeking further into view. “Yeah,” he agreed, “it’s not exactly a scenario I thought would take place again.”

Her stomach dropped at the use of the word _again_ , before she swallowed and allowed the silence to return.

“Betty,” he said suddenly, his voice a little lower, “when you saw my dad, what did he say to you?”

“Jug, I don't know if we should be talking about it right now-”

“Betty, please.”

She bit her lip and looked down, pulling at a loose thread on her scarf as she replayed the scene over in her head. “Well,” she began, “he told me how he was doing, that he'd been sober for a couple of years, that your mom and JB were doing good…”

She hesitated.

“What?”

She sighed and lifted her head to meet his eyes for the first time since he’d sat down. “He was worried about you. That you were colder and more reserved than you’d ever been. You weren’t allowing anyone to get close to you and he was concerned.”

Jughead frowned, furrowing his brows as he shook his head. “What… why would he-”

“He said it was because you still loved me.”

There was silence then. Not like the one that had come before, in fact, this was much different. It cut through them, agonisingly slow. Nothing but the sound of fairground music, chatter and children laughing. He certainly wasn't expecting that; in fact, neither was she.

“Betty, I-”

“It's ok, Jug,” she breathed, worried he’d say something she couldn’t bear to hear. “It was a long time ago now and I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it. Right?”

There it was again. That silence. Jughead ran a hand through his hair.

“Right?”

“That's the end of the ride, kids,” a voice boomed, causing Betty to whip her head around. Amongst everything, she hadn't even realised they'd reached the ground again.

“Come on, you two,” Veronica called, “we’re going to get hot drinks, concurrently find wherever Cheryl has hidden herself, then head back.”

-

With hot chocolates in paper cups, Veronica and Betty walked on ahead on the way back to the cabin as the rest of the group trailed behind deep in conversation about how Archie nearly got whiplash from Reggie hitting him so hard on the bumper cars, or so he claimed.

“Looks like you two were deep in thought back there,” Veronica said, breaking the silence as she took a sip from her cup, and wincing slightly at the heat.

“What?”

“You and Jughead.”

Betty looked down, opening her mouth to speak but struggling with the right words. Somehow, nothing she constructed sounded right.

“I get it,” she continued softly, “you guys have history. A lot of it, actually.”

Betty laughed slightly as her face momentarily switched to something more sombre. “Yeah,” she replied, “you could say that.”

“Listen, B, if you’re thinking about getting back together-”

“What?” Betty cried, louder than anticipated. “No, no. It's not like that. We’re friends…”

Veronica raised a brow, unable to read her best friend for one of the first times since they’d known each other.

“And plus,” she added, as if remembering an important detail she’d missed out, “I have Brian.”

Smiling after a few moments, Veronica looped her arm through Betty’s and exhaled. “Well, I’m glad my matchmaking skills have worked out.”

“Yeah,” she replied quietly, releasing a small sigh of relief, “me too. Anyway, Mrs Andrews to be… has it sunk in yet?”

“Nope,” she giggled, leaning into Betty as she did so, “I still can't believe it. We’re thinking of having the wedding in summer, around mid-July.”

“Wow,” Betty replied, “that soon?”

“Sooner the better,” Veronica beamed. She had that look about her. The _‘I’m marrying my first love and life is a dream’_ kind of look. Betty felt a sadness creep its way in, and she quickly swatted it away with guilt.

“Also,” she continued, lingering on the word for a few moments, “I was wondering… if you’d be my maid of honour.”

They stopped for a moment as Betty’s jaw dropped, unable to repress the huge smile that erupted. “V,” she cried, “really?”

“Duh,” she laughed, giving her a playful poke.

“I’d be absolutely honoured, V,” she pulled her into a hug, “as if you even needed to ask. Thank you.”

They tightened their grip on one another once more and continued on their walk through the snow. Betty turned her head to look at Veronica again as she began to talk about her dress and the flowers and the music and everything else a bride-to-be fantasises about since they’re a little girl.

She really did look happy. And that in itself made Betty happy, too. Without thinking, she stole a glance behind her, and the eyes she was looking for stared right back.

-

It was around midnight when everyone had retreated up to bed. They’d spent a couple of hours in the pool again, but Jughead was nowhere to be seen. Betty kind of understood why, after his outburst the last time. She cosied up to Brian, as promised, but she couldn’t stop herself from watching the door in case he decided to come outside.

He didn’t. And it unnerved her.

Throwing on her old Pop’s t-shirt and drying her hair quickly with a towel, she said her good nights before turning to make her way into the kitchen. Finally, when nobody else was in sight she allowed her face to drop, dragging her feet along the floor and immediately freezing halfway.

“Oh, hey,” she said, momentarily disconcerted at the presence of another person in the room, “I didn’t know you were still up.”

“Yeah,” he replied, scratching the back of his neck, “still a night owl.”

She smiled, clutching onto her empty glass a little tighter as her heartbeat quickened. “Me, too.”

Forcing herself to stop awkwardly lingering in the same spot, she entered the kitchen and rinsed out her cup before placing it into the sink with the rest of the washing up she knew she’d inevitably be doing the following morning.

The radio was on, but she wasn’t really listening. All she could think about was their conversation a few hours earlier on the ferris wheel. It was almost as if she was scared to be alone with him; scared because she didn’t trust herself; scared because she knew exactly what her problem was.

She still loved him, too.

“Oh my god,” he said suddenly, his voice taking her off guard as she turned off the kitchen light, “this song.”

She furrowed her brows, looking up and processing what it was. Then it hit her. _Lost_ by Emily Afton was playing quietly on the radio above the fireplace. The song Betty was listening to when they shared their first ever kiss; the song they’d joked about for years afterwards; _their_ song.

“No,” she couldn’t help but laugh as she threw her head in her hands. “This is too weird.”

When she lifted her gaze she was still clutching onto her cheeks as Jughead placed his book down, losing the page he was on and clearly not caring as he stood before her and held out his hand. She giggled and shook her head. He couldn’t be serious.

“May I have this dance, ma’am?”

She bit her lip, considering it for a few moments as the voice in her head shouted _no, no, no_. Her lips curved into an uncontrollable grin. She shouldn’t. She knew she shouldn’t. But he was smiling at her, and, god, she’d missed that smile.

“You’re a dork.”

Placing her hand in his, something sparked inside of her. He tightened his grip as the song continued in the background, Betty’s heart fluttering at the simple gesture. _You don’t even know babe, what you’ve done, when you come into my life._

He started to bob his head along as she threw hers back to laugh, before placing a finger on her lips to keep quiet, giggling through her louder than anticipated _shhh_. He smiled.

“That laugh,” he said under his breath, prompting her cheeks to redden.

He twirled her all the way around, they both chuckled as she stumbled slightly, leaning into him as she did so. Without thinking, she rested her head on his chest and shut her eyes for a moment. FP’s voice from the diner all of those years ago started to replay in her mind as she felt his heartbeat hasten through his shirt.

_“You’re the one, Betty. He’s never stopped loving you.”_

_“It’s not that simple.”_

_“Why can’t it be?”_

His hands fell to her waist like a natural instinct, causing her to raise her head and face him once more, so close that she could feel his breath. His expression flickered to something solemn, mirroring the look they gave each other when he first showed up two nights prior.

Betty swallowed. “You’ve got to stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

She exhaled. “Jug.”

They stopped swaying, stopped giggling, Betty thought she might have even stopped breathing, as Jughead lifted his hand to her cheek. She leaned into his touch, not taking her eyes off of his as she did so, and that was when it happened.

It was a slow kiss at first; soft, sweet and subtle, as though they were re-discovering each other all over again, just like they had done all of those years earlier with the same lyrics echoing in the background. History had a tendency of repeating itself in the strangest ways.

_You don't even know where we could go_ _, if we just give up on the fight._

They broke away, exhaling deeply, doing nothing other than drink each other in as though the moment didn’t even feel real. After a few moments, Jughead gently lifted her chin with his finger and buried his eyes into hers.

Yeah, he really needed to stop looking at her like that.

Her lips were on his again, much more forcefully and less hesitantly this time. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her ever so slightly and they eased into it further. His hands lifted from her waist to cup her face, lightly brushing her hair out of the way and moving to the back of her neck. She bit his lip ever so slightly, and he groaned.

“Shit!” A voice cried.

They jumped at the sudden noise, looking at each other in astonishment for a brief moment as their hearts pounded against their chests. The song had finished.

“What?” Betty called back, incredibly flustered as she turned her head quickly, her hands still resting around Jughead’s neck. After a moment, she remembered who she was and where she was, gathering herself together and pulling away completely.

Fixing her hair, she rushed over to the bottom of the stairs and cleared her throat. “Is everything ok?”

It was Veronica who was perched at the top, wrapping one of Archie’s t shirts around herself as she stared out of the window in horror. She clutched her torso tightly as the brightness of the moon reflected off of the snow and draped itself around her.

“I think we might have a problem.”


	4. Every Force in the Universe

Of course they were snowed in for Christmas Eve. Betty had said coming here this close to the big festivities may be a bad idea due to the snow and how unpredictable it could be, but Veronica had insisted that it would be fine and that she was just being overly cautious for nothing. However, the look on her face when she stared out of the window at the snowfall the previous night suggested she was perhaps beginning to regret her initial objections.

“I should’ve listened,” she admitted the next morning, throwing her head in her hands at the breakfast table as Archie flung his arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze.

“It’s ok,” he said, an endearing softness coating his tone, “we’ll figure something out. At least we’re all together.”

Betty exhaled, taking the empty seat beside her and placing down her freshly poured coffee.

“Archie’s right,” she agreed, exchanging a look with him whilst Veronica kept her head down, “it’s not the end of the world. We might be ok to head back tomorrow morning.”

“I’m not staying,” Cheryl declared. “I have things to do. Places to be.”

Jughead rolled his eyes, sliding in beside Betty and startling her; she hadn’t even realised he’d come downstairs and the sudden close proximity of his body that she was practically all over around ten hours earlier was clouding every inch of her brain.

“What are you planning on doing exactly?” He asked dryly, taking a bite from an apple he’d retrieved from the middle of the table. He seemed a lot cooler and more relaxed than she was. “Flying home?”

“If I can,” Cheryl folded her arms. “I’ll have someone send a helicopter for me.”

They all traded a look as if to say _ok, sure_ , before biting their tongues and allowing her to head upstairs with her nose held high in the air.

“It’s all good,” Reggie interjected, “we can make the most of the extra time.”

“Yeah,” Josie agreed, “as long as we can let our families know that we’re ok.”

Veronica smiled with a nod as Betty put her thinking cap on. “Walking into town shouldn’t be an issue, although I’d be careful. It’s just the driving that will be practically impossible.”

“There’s no way the cars are safe to drive any time today,” Archie declared, information they all knew and had swiftly come to accept anyway.

Betty cleared her throat, taking a sip from her cup and cradling it with her cold hands. “If you’re going into town, go in groups, don’t venture out alone.”

“Yes, mom,” Reggie joked, prompting a half-hearted eye roll in response.

Jughead looked at her and she could feel her heart quickening. What was wrong with her? Sure, they’d had a small (huge) moment last night and they hadn’t had any time to talk about why it happened or what it meant seeing as Veronica was having an impromptu meltdown over the weather conditions and they had headed up to bed without exchanging another word, but surely after sleeping on it she should've been able to compose herself and clear her head.

She diverted her gaze downwards nervously, and it was then that she felt his hand graze hers under the table. Her entire body froze. It was intentional, for sure, and she felt her stomach drop as though she were a reckless teenager all over again. _Nope, any chance of composing herself was well and truly gone._

“Betty?” Veronica asked, a hint of impatience in her tone, clearly having said something that she’d missed entirely due to her ex-boyfriend secretly holding her hand under the table.

“Yeah,” she replied, pulling her hand away immediately and swallowing, “sorry.”

“I was saying I think half of us should go into town to stock up on food and call home, and the other half stay here, shovel some of the snow away and warm the place up. I think we might have the coldest night yet tonight.”

She nodded. “That sounds good. Who wants to go and who wants to stay?”

Cheryl suddenly appeared again out of nowhere, her coat already in hand. “I’ll go.”

Subsequently, Reggie, Josie, Kevin and Brian had agreed to accompany her; whilst Veronica, Betty, Jughead and Archie decided to stay and take care of things in the lodge. Whilst Archie and Jughead got to work at shovelling the snow, Betty and Veronica sat at the table working up a plan of action.

“So, those five are going into town to check weather warnings and contact home, and the company we’re renting from are looking into how long it’ll take to clear the roads.”

Betty nodded. “We have enough wood for the fire, luckily, and I wrote the guys a little list of food that’ll keep us going in the meantime. Have we missed anything?”

“Hmm,” Veronica leant her elbow on the table and tapped her chin in a mocking deep thought. “Aside from the fact you and our very own Jughead Jones were participating in a hot makeout session last night, nope.”

Betty froze, her eyes fixated on the table as she slowly dropped her pencil. _Shit_.

“I didn’t think you saw that,” she finally said quietly.

“Well, you should be glad it was me and not Brian,” she replied with a sigh, a sigh that said _I knew this would happen_.

Betty bit her lip, holding back the truth like a scream that was desperate to come out. She’d never anticipated for a single moment that the weekend would turn out like some weird romantic comedy, or that the lie she was carrying for Brian and Kevin would weigh down on her with quite so much heaviness.

“What is it?”

She shut her eyes and threw her head in her hands. “I really can’t say.”

Veronica shook her head in response, her brows furrowed. “Betty," she murmured, growing increasingly concerned. "You can talk to me.”

The door swung open as if on cue, carrying in the icy breeze, raising goose bumps all the way up their arms. Betty rubbed hers gently in response and met Jughead’s gaze almost instantly.

“Everything ok?” Veronica asked, just as taken aback as Betty at their sudden entrance, walking over to brush some snow off of Archie’s hair.

“Coffee break,” he laughed awkwardly, noticing the weird air in the room and exchanging a look with Jughead as if wishing they’d stayed outside.

As Archie proceeded to follow Veronica into the kitchen who was instantly fussing over him and making sure he was warm enough, Betty quietly slipped away up the stairs. She hadn’t intended for him to follow, a part of her wanted him to whereas the other part, the rational part, thought it would be better if he didn’t. To pretend the previous night hadn’t even happened, but a prompt knock on her door hauled her out of her internal battle almost instantly.

They were Betty and Jughead. Their names were made to sit side by side. There was no way they could pretend it hadn’t happened.

When she opened it, she saw the person she thought she could never possibly get tired of seeing. They needed to talk, and they both knew that was vital; there were so many words that needed to come out, but as soon as he entered her room and shut the door behind him, they were kissing, and those words seemed to just drift away.

“Jug,” she managed through quick breaths.

“What?” He replied, still kissing her, as she felt herself lean into it more. It was so natural, being with him like this; like they were drawn to each other and it felt wrong ever being with anybody else. Despite of what her gut was screaming, she came to her senses and put her hands on his chest to stop him.

“We can’t do this,” she declared, almost as though it were a question rather than a statement.

He looked wounded for a moment, almost surprised, then ran a hand through his hair and bit his lip. She inhaled in annoyance. _Did he have to do that? How on earth was she supposed to concentrate?_

“Why not?” He wondered aloud, a vulnerability she had seen many times before, the one he reserved only for her, creeping its way onto his face in a way he couldn't control.

She shook her head, unable to maintain eye contact as she walked over to the double doors and kept her back turned. She knew from the moment Archie had insisted they invite Jughead to this thing that this was how it was going to go. Perhaps the fact that she knew it was why she had allowed it to happen at all. Because she wanted it. The aftermath was something she now scolded herself for not thinking about for a single moment. It was so unlike her.

“Well, because,” she continued, nervously stumbling over her words in an attempt to answer his incredibly plausible question. "It’s us, Jug.”

He lifted his empty hands to match her empty answer. “What does that even mean?”

“You know what it means,” she said a little more forcefully. The tension between them had shifted rather abruptly as opposed to his lips on hers just a moment earlier; there was an awkwardness in the air now, as though the teenagers they were pretending to be had disappeared into the past and were too scared to come back out again.

“Just tell me…” He began, raising a hand and furrowing his brows. She was trying to tell him things that he already knew; things he didn’t necessarily want to hear. If she wanted a serious conversation, he thought he better get right to the point. Something had been playing on his mind from the minute he'd received Archie's first email a few weeks prior. He had contemplated for quite some time about whether he was going to confront her about it or not. Initially, he'd decided it was a bad idea, but now, somehow, he figured he had nothing to lose.

“Did you know?”

She waited for him to continue, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. They were quite clearly both growing as impatient and frustrated as each other. “Know what?”

“That Veronica was booking this cabin.”

She swallowed, her heart jumping into her throat. Absentmindedly, she began to tug on the curtains which were already drawn back neatly enough, as though to do something with her shaking hands. They were perfect, of course, but she was terrified of the conversation that she knew was coming and was seemingly now doing everything in her power to stall it.

“I don’t know what you mean," she muttered, to which he groaned and clutched his temple.

"Betty," he pleaded. 

Exhaling deeply, she stopped what she was doing, and she nodded. “I knew which one it was,” she admitted quietly, no louder than a whisper. "Look, Jug, do we have to-"

“I was going to propose to you that weekend,” he said rather abruptly. So much so, she was sure she must’ve misheard him. Her eyes shot up, her heart pounding against her chest.

“Wh- what?”

“Of course, I didn’t have chance to do so when your mom showed up here and dragged you home.”

She was fixated in her spot, her legs began to feel like jelly. His words seemed to enter her system and creep around every inch of her body, searching for a place to settle but getting lost along the way. “You were… you were going to… I didn't... I didn't know.”

He raised a brow and laughed dryly. “Well, call me a traditionalist, but that was the whole point. I wanted to surprise you.”

She was truly, completely lost for words, dropping her arms to her sides, her eyes glistening with the onset of tears as they stood for a few moments in silence. She had really had no idea. How could she not have?

That weekend was a rather irrational one, all those years ago, and subsequently the last they had ever spent together. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about it ever since it had happened, and for good reason. It was the weekend her heart had broken into a million pieces.

Her parents, her mother in particular, had never approved much of Jughead. They had tolerated their relationship, trying to be supportive, which was often a strain for the Coopers, but from the moment Jughead had put on that serpent jacket, things had reached new heights. _You are better than this_ , they’d told her. _You will not throw your life away for Southside scum_. They had plans for her; plans she hadn’t always really wanted, but when Jughead left Riverdale she gave in, feeling utterly hopeless and drained.

They had gone away a few weeks before Christmas, saving up for the trip in secret for months, telling their parents that they were spending their weekend separately at Veronica and Archie’s houses. Alice and Hal would never have allowed Betty to go, even though she was eighteen years old and perfectly capable of making her own decisions.

It was exciting and it felt like running away; something they’d both longed for, even if only for a few days. It was just the two of them; they were in love, it was perfect and it was special and something the both of them would carry with them for the rest of their lives. Naturally, when Betty’s parents had checked in with Hermione and Hiram to discover that their daughter was in fact not there, they panicked. That’s what Betty felt the most guilty about; the fact that they had faced the possibility of losing their youngest daughter without any idea of where she might be.

It wasn’t until Alice had turned Betty’s bedroom upside down that she’d found the bank statement including the charge for the transport and the lodge itself. She’d turned up as quickly as she possibly could, dragging Betty home with forceful words, threats towards her future and bombarding her with her ever present disappointment. Betty had wanted to object, to run back and get in a car with Jughead to never be seen again – but she didn’t.

When she got back to Riverdale, her life slowly settled back into its monotonous routine, where it would stay seemingly for the rest of her life. She saw Jughead just once more one evening in a darkened corner behind Pop’s. It was uncharacteristically warm for winter. He’d asked her to meet him somewhere out of sight of the vultures of the town who circled their every move, even more so since the stunt they'd pulled. They loved each other, that much was true, but they both knew it was over. It was out of their hands. They were exhausted. He softly told her that he was leaving, and that this was goodbye.

And just like that, she never saw him again.

Until now.

“Look,” he said quickly, replaying the events through his head at the same pace she was and deciding he had had enough, standing up off the bed and bringing them both back into the present. It was almost as though he'd forgotten just how painful the memories actually were. They both had. “It's irrelevant now," he declared. "You’re right, I guess. We can’t do this again.”

“Jug,” she breathed, reaching out for his arm but missing him entirely as he headed for the door, her following word staying silent within her head. She wanted to say it; she even opened her mouth to do so. But she couldn't. She just couldn't. Not now, and not then. It just lingered there, forming a bitter taste on her tongue.

_Wait._

-

Upon finally emerging from her room once more, Betty had decided she was going to take over Jughead’s job of shovelling snow, who was now being grilled about his choice of career by Veronica in the kitchen as though nothing had even happened, and zipped up her coat to join Archie outside. She was stronger than she looked, and this was the best reason she could think of to get some air whilst simultaneously keeping herself as busy as possible. For the first time all weekend, she found herself thinking that she couldn't wait to go home. However, despite her best efforts, Archie could see straight through her. He always had been able to do that; it was like some sort of weird, childhood best friend sixth sense.

“What's going on, Betts?”

She sighed, hauling a large amount of snow from the drive onto the ever-growing pile beside her. “Nothing,” she lied.

“Veronica told me,” he said quite quickly, almost nervous to bring it up, “you know, about the kiss.”

Rolling her eyes, she tightened her grip and dug even deeper. “Of course she did.”

Archie stopped what he was doing and leaned against his shovel, clearly intending for her to follow his movements and do the same as he watched her closely. She carried on, wondering whether coming outside to be with her oldest friend was a good idea after all.

“She just cares about you,” he insisted, his voice low and careful as she halted slightly.

“I know,” she replied, a softness returning to her tone as she finally met his gaze. “I know.”

“If you want to talk about it-”

“Thank you, Arch, but I'd really like to talk about something else.”

He shrugged, finally managing a smile as he picked up the shovel and continued with the job at hand without another word. This was why. Because Archie actually listened to her.

“So,” she chuckled, trying to both change the subject and lighten the mood, “a July wedding, huh?”

“Yeah,” his smile grew even larger, “Ronnie’s already got the majority planned out. I can't believe we’re actually getting married. Do you remember our plan?”

She giggled as she reminisced over their teenage pact, knowing immediately what he was referring to and picturing it in her head as she'd always done in the past. Before everything. “You and V get married, move into a luxury apartment in New York, get a dog and a cat and I move in across the street from you? How could I forget.”  

He flashed his perfectly white teeth with a nod, the details she remembered amusing him somewhat. It was almost like he genuinely had expected her not to. “Well," he continued nervously, "what do you say?”

She scoffed, her voice quieter than before, but still loud enough for him to hear. “That would be a dream.”

“I'm serious, Betty.”

She sniggered again, meeting his gaze for a brief moment before stopping completely still. The icy breeze bit at the skin on her face as the sudden realisation washed over her. Her expression changed as she slowly straightened her frame.  _Oh my god. He really was serious._

“Archie,” she shook her head, attempting to process what he was suggesting, in disbelief at the unexpected turn of the light-hearted conversation she'd actually intended for, “I can’t.”

“Why not?” He cried, throwing his hands up, as though expecting the exact response that he'd been faced with. “We've found a place, it's gorgeous, and there are slightly smaller and more affordable apartments across the street. It would be perfect. You've got your savings, right? You could write, you've got the experience and you're so talented, not to mention ice skating in Central Park-”

“You’ve really thought this out,” she said with a quiet, pain-tainted laugh and widened eyes. It was a nice dream for two kids playing in the back yard, but for two fully grown adults shovelling snow whilst their ex and fiance sat no doubt in an awkward, deafening silence back inside? Not so much.

“Arch,” she spoke again, closing her eyes and shaking her head for the millionth time as she continued. “You don't understand. I can't just leave Riverdale.”

“Is this because of Jughead moving, too?" He protested. "You’ll hardly see him.”

She reopened her eyes at the immediate mention of his name. He'd not once mentioned that; she'd have remembered if he had.

“This is about my parents and my sister and my job," she insisted. "I have responsibilities, remember? Plus, I didn’t even know that,” she trailed off.

“Betty, don't you think it's about time you did something for you?”

She exhaled, looking at the floor with a frown as she considered his words. This was just what she did. She lived for everyone else rather than for herself. It was wired into her by this point; she didn’t even know how to stop. She knew that she wanted to, and somewhere deep inside of her she thought that maybe she could, but she was never quite brave enough to act on that little voice in the forefront of her mind. 

“I can't,” she decided, inspecting the driveway which was now almost completely clear. She was saying no, and her decision was final. 

“Fine,” he uttered after a moment, his face dropping in an exhausted defeat. She was unhappy, but she was stubborn, and at least he'd tried. “Just think about it, ok?”

She nodded, tired of talking, silently vowing that she most certainly was not going to think about it. She couldn't. She wouldn't.

Of course, for the rest of the evening, she inevitably couldn't think about anything else.

When the other half of the group eventually made it back in one piece, breaking the awkward silence that had completely smothered the place all afternoon, they had brought enough food to last the night and following morning, accompanied by well wishes from their families and good news regarding returning home in time for Christmas dinner. It looked like the roads were to be cleared by late the next morning, meaning their festivities weren’t entirely ruined. More importantly, meaning Veronica could finally release that breath she had been holding in for the entirety of the day.

They'd all joined forces to make a variety of meals to pick and choose from for their final evening all together, each surprisingly as delicious as the other. Their weekend getaway had been extended by one day, but they still felt like it was over much too soon. There was something almost sad about it. Betty found a small part of her thinking that perhaps they could make this an annual thing, but she almost immediately shook the thought away.

“Everyone,” Brian announced around an hour later as the group were finishing off their final piece of dessert, chocolate cake smothered in either custard or ice-cream, clearing his throat as the chatter in the room slowly quietened down. “Kevin and I have something to say.”

Betty looked up at him immediately, mouthing _are you sure_ , to which Brian nodded, prompting her to smile warmly. Kevin reached over and put his hand over his, squeezing gently. The simple gesture did not go unnoticed; Veronica’s jaw dropped quite slowly as she shot her eyes at Betty, receiving a shrug in reply.

“This might come as a surprise,” Kevin started, straightening up his shoulders, “but Brian and I are together.”

Judging by everyone's faces, he was right. It really had come as a surprise; nobody had even had an inkling. Aside from Betty, of course. She and Jughead exchanged a glance; it was like he had somehow already knew. The room then proceeded to fall silent.

“We came up with a plan,” he continued, diverting his gaze in Betty’s direction, “where Betty would pretend to be with Brian to, I guess, throw you off the scent.”

Brian nodded along, interjecting once more. “We didn’t want to lie,” he said, “we just needed time. And, as an added bonus, I’m happy to say that I’ve made an incredible, life-long friend, even if perhaps the circumstances were a bit unusual.”

Betty couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter at this statement, hugging her legs to her chest and giggling slightly. She glanced around the room to see that everyone was beginning to smile, even Cheryl. Veronica eventually lifted a hand over her heart as her face softened, a mixture of puzzle pieces slowly fitting into place.

“I love him,” Brian declared, “and I think I’ve come to realise now that life is too short. You should tell the people you love that you love them; in fact, you should scream it from the rooftops. I don’t know what I did to get so lucky. If you have that, you need to grab it with both hands, and you need to hold onto it.”

A chorus of _aww’s_ filled the room, mixed with an impromptu applause, as Kevin’s face erupted into the hugest, most sincere smile, telling him “I love you, too” before pulling him into a kiss. Betty thought that she’d never seen two people so happy in all of her life, although Archie and Veronica were most definitely a difficult one to top.

Veronica proceeded to jump up off the sofa, as if unable to contain herself any longer, and bounded over, pulling them both into a three-way hug. “I’m so happy for you two,” she cried. “So, so happy.”

Brian’s words had really tugged at something inside of Betty, something she hadn’t felt in a long time, as she wiped the remnants of a tear with the back of her hand, stealing a glance at Jughead who looked away rather abruptly. It had clearly tugged on something inside of him, too.

Something in the air had changed. She didn’t know exactly what it was. But it had. It was impossible to ignore.

Roughly around half an hour later, the group were clinking their glasses together and enjoying their last night in the lodge with warm laughter, contentment and polaroid photos with the camera Josie had brought but forgotten to use. Archie had even retrieved a guitar from one of the bedrooms and was serenading everyone with a song he had just drunkenly written on the spot, to which Veronica was crying laughing at how ridiculous her fiance was, yet stopping every so often to study the man she couldn’t be more in love with if she tried.

Betty momentarily retreated into the kitchen and swilled out her empty wine glass, placing it to the side and glancing very quickly out of the window above the sink. She froze. He was stood outside beside the pool, his back to the lodge as he leant against the wall overlooking the snow-filled scenery. She lowered her head, closing her eyes, the sound of the laughter behind her suddenly making her feel an unbelievably bittersweet sadness.

He heard her coming as soon as she gently closed the double doors behind her, approaching where he was stood without a word. She leant beside him, allowing the silence to just settle, quietly intruding his solitude. Without a second thought, she reached out to stroke his arm, a gesture he responded to by moving to place a hand in hers.

“My dad was right,” he declared after a few moments, the reflection of the pool masking him in a deep hue as he kept his eyes on the view before him. “I love you. I still do.”

She nodded, her lip trembling into a faint smile. Of course she knew. But hearing the words out loud for the first time in four years provoked a tear to escape as though it couldn’t stay contained.

“I’ve always loved you, Jug,” her voice was gentle, a slight shakiness creeping in as she continued to cry very softly. “I don’t know how not to.”

They tightened their grip on one another, Jughead finally turning to face her. He reached out his free hand and gently dried her tears with his thumb. Allowing his hand to rest on her cheek, he studied every freckle on the face he knew better than his own.

“But it's not enough, is it?”

She closed her eyes, tilting her head downwards as she lifted a hand to rest atop of his. She didn’t know what to say, and the truth was that her silence spoke more than she ever could’ve. There was a reason every force in the universe continually separated them from one another, and perhaps that reason was because that was where they were meant to stay.

She swallowed, her eyes reopening, the words falling out of her mouth before she could stop them. "You really would've married me?"

His face softened then, the green of his eyes glistening as though she'd just asked him the most ridiculously obvious question he'd ever heard in his life. He stroked her cheek gently, and he smiled. "In a heartbeat."

They remained in the same spot for a while, exchanging some sort of unspoken resolution. They should’ve known this was coming from the moment he’d stepped through that front door only a few days earlier. The air was growing unbearably cold, and Betty hadn’t thought to pick up her coat. The look in their eyes mirrored a familiar, nostalgic warmth, albeit tinged with that same sadness she’d felt only moments before. Still, something felt unfinished. 

However, reluctantly and painfully, just like that, she gently let go and made her way back inside. She told herself it was for the best, and perhaps soon she would actually start to believe it.

Jughead, cold and helpless, watched as Betty Cooper walked out of his life all over again.

-

Arriving back in Riverdale was just as mundane as she had been expecting. She had immediately missed the lodge and the weekend that had gone far too quickly as soon as she’d watched it fade into nothingness in her rear view mirror. She’d said goodbye to her friends with a mixture of warm embraces and _get home safe_ ’s, even though Reggie, Josie, Brian and Kevin would no doubt be in Pop’s the following day to greet her for their traditional post-Christmas milkshake and fries. Jughead had grazed her arm just before she’d gotten into her car and told her to look after herself. She’d found herself replying with a shaky “you, too.”

She had barely slept a wink all night, half expecting him to burst through her bedroom door and convince her that it _was_ enough, and that they should run away together just like they’d always planned. The terrifying part was that she knew she would have to say no. And, even worse, that she would most definitely be lying.

Her phone had started to beep around an hour or so into her journey, the one thing she was ultimately dreading; an army of text messages, missed calls and emails crashing into her at full force. Her real life and responsibilities seemed to have missed her. She couldn’t say that the feeling was mutual. She kept a mental note to get her life back in order as soon as Christmas day was over; for now, at least, she just wanted to stay in her bubble.

Pulling up to the Cooper household after a couple more hours of singing along to her favourite songs on the radio and actively ignoring her phone along with thoughts she couldn’t bear to face, she was happy to find that her family had already gone on their traditional Christmas day afternoon walk. She found herself looking up to the sky and thanking whoever was listening for getting her out of that one, and simultaneously buying herself a little more time to fit back into her Betty Cooper shoes which she had very much left behind.

She hated to admit that they had never quite fit right.

Hauling her suitcase into her bedroom, she leant it up against the wall and instinctively retrieved her phone from her back pocket, checking the screen before she could stop herself. To her surprise, the very top notification was a text from Veronica, proposing something that seemed utterly ridiculous at first glance. Even still, she stared at it for quite some time.

_We’re having a New Year’s Eve party in New York. Come. Do something for you. Let me know, will arrange a flight, my treat. Xo V._

Finally, she shook her head, throwing her phone face down onto the bed beside her. New Year’s Eve was less than a week away, and leaving so soon after her last trip would have been absolutely absurd and completely irresponsible.

Wouldn’t it?

Brian’s words from the night before had been echoing through her brain over and over from the moment they’d left his mouth; no matter what she did, she couldn’t shake them. They had followed her from the lodge like a shadow, all the way back to the place she so hesitantly called home, and now that she was sat on her pastel pink sheets, she finally allowed herself to listen.

_If you have that, you need to grab it with both hands, and you need to hold onto it._

She lifted her gaze in astonishment, a veil rising and melting away into thin air. What the hell was she doing? Why has she here? Suddenly, her room felt empty and vacant, like she’d never really ever been there to begin with. The house, the town, the job, everything; it wasn’t right. It wasn’t where she was supposed to be. She was a ghost of somebody else, and she hadn’t even noticed until that very moment. Everything he’d said, the look his eyes had conveyed, the way the air had changed, finally made total sense to her.

Almost instantly, something clicked. She had made a mistake.

Yes, every force in the universe continually pulled her as far away from Jughead as possible, that much was true, there was no denying it. But there was a detail interlaced that she’d seemed to have forgotten. The most important of all.

One always seemed to bring them right back.

When Veronica’s phone lit up all the way over in New York, she read the screen and almost had to do a double take. The three words she hadn’t expected to see were sat right there in front of her in bold, black letters. Leaning against her kitchen counter, she smiled.

_I'll be there._

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, guys! I'm finally writing again *gasps* This is a fic I'd had saved in my drafts for a good month or so, but hadn't gotten around to finishing. I wanted to do something Christmas-themed with a bit of comedy, romance and, of course, angst - hey, it is me we're talking about here. I just want to quickly apologise for abandoning Multitudes which I totally lost all faith in and will most likely be deleting. I hope you enjoy this all the same, I'm not entirely sure how many parts there will be exactly but I'm just going with it, and hopefully this'll be the start of many more multi-fics to come. I'm trying to ease back into writing these fics, so go easy on me; I honestly just couldn't bear staring at this and editing it any longer. I was driving myself mad, haha. Thanks for the love, as always, and for being patient with me. I promise I won't let you down with this one, and the next part will be out as soon as possible. <3


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